Manchester United are where Ed Woodward never expected them to be again with Man City

Ed Woodward was in the lift and making his way down to the directors' box in Juventus's Allianz Stadium when he bumped into some journalists. "Been an interesting few days," he quipped, his mouth curling into a satisfied smirk.

Woodward did not have to specify what he was referring to. Der Spiegel had published the report, 'Manchester City exposed, Chapter 1: Bending the Rules to the Tune of Millions' three days earlier and Woodward's night was about to get better. United scored twice in the last 10 minutes to secure a stirring comeback victory in Turin.

Uefa showed teeth with City, banning them from the Champions League for two years and fining them €30million in February 2020, but their case was not watertight. City won their appeal five months later and the fine was reduced to €10m.

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Woodward parted with Jose Mourinho awkwardly at Manchester Airport on United's return from Italy. Three days later, City's superiority was immense in the Etihad derby, a 3-1 stroll. Thirty-seven days later, Woodward and Mourinho parted for good.

City reached their first Champions League final last year. United have not made it past the quarter-finals in more than 10 years. The last time United clasped the ear-shaped handles of the European Cup, City were under the ownership of Thaksin Shinawatra, about to appoint Mark Hughes and their seminal takeover was three months away.

Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, was convicted of corruption. Sheikh Mansour, City's majority shareholder, is the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, which last week abstained in the United Nations vote on a resolution condemning Russia's invasion of